Dispensing device



April 17, 1956 Filed Oct. 4, 1952 c. B. HARKER 2,742,215

DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 25 y WM har] ea rbqhwkew "7 WW April17, 1956 c. B. HARKER DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4,1952 mvm-ro hat/lea Q-JQV'KEW 6 @144 Pie 144M, luy fx V CAT-romsY/ April17, 1956 c. B. HARKER 2,742,215

DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Oct; 4, 1952 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 spy Tj/4a imaChawleu' K5 mow-Ker MAI r United States Patent DISPENSING DEVICE CharlesB. Harker, Rockford, Ill., assignor to Bartelt Engineering Company,Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 4, 1952,Serial No. 313,145

11 Claims. (Cl. 226-59) This invention relates to a dispensing devicefor use in a packaging machine of the type in which bags to be filledare advanced through a filling station where the spout of the dispensingdevice is lowered into the bag, opened to discharge a quantity ofmaterial to be packaged and then raised outof the bag. The invention hasmore particular reference to a dispensing device in which the spout isformed by two pivoted buckets that swing together and apart to close andopen the spout.

One object of the invention is to open and close the spout by a novelmechanism which is actuated in response to the up and down motions ofthe spout and which operates with an over-center action so that thespout is held either open or closed during its movement into and out ofthe bag.

A more detailed object is to swing the buckets by an over-center devicewhich moves up and down with thespout and is moved across center in onedirection as the spout approaches its lower position and in the oppositedirection as the spout nears its upper position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of apackaging machine employing the novel dispensing device of the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the dispensing device.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the parts in a differentposition.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of the stops for actuating the togglemechanism.

Figs. 6 and 7 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 5 and illustrate amodified form of the invention.

For the purposes of illustration, the invention is shown in the drawingsembodied in a packaging machine in which a row of bags 10 are grippedopen end up by clamps 11 on a conveyor 12 and are advanced edgewise stepby step through a filling station 13. At the filling station, a spout 14which receives a charge of material to be packaged from a suitablehopper (not shown) is lowered into the bag and opened to discharge thematerialinto the bag. The mouth of the bag at the filling station isheld open. preparatory to the entry of the spout by splitter blades 15and 16 disposed on opposite sides of the spout and between the upperends of the bag walls. Before the next advance of the bags, the spout israised out of the bag and closed to receive another charge of materialfrom the hopper.

.To eifect the up and down movement of the spout 14, the latter iscarried on the free ends of elongated parallel arms 17 and 18 whichextend longitudinally of the machine along the path of the bags 10 andare fulcrumed beyond the filling station 13 at 19 and 20 on.

an upright frame plate'zl. In the present instance, the

Q 2,742,215 Patented Apr. 17, 1956 spout is mounted on a block 22 (Fig.2) fast on the outer end of an arm 23 which projects forwardly from alink 24 whose upper and lower ends are joined through pivots 25 and 26to the arms 17 and 18. With this arrangement, the spout 14 is loweredinto and raised out of a bag dwelling at the station 13 by swinging thearms 17 and 18 down and up. A roller 27 on the end of the arm 17 ridesin a channel 28 on the plate 21 to guide the arms and maintain the spoutin the plane of the bag at the filling station.

The arms 17 and 18 are turned about their fulcrums by a vertical link 29which is pivotally connected at its upper end to the arm 18 and is movedup and down by a suitable mechanism (not shown). In the upper positionof the arms, the lower end of the spout 14 is disposed as shown in fullslightly above the upper open end of the bag dwelling at thestation 13.As the spout is lowered, it enters the mouth of the bag separating thebag walls and coming to rest in the position shown in broken lines inFig. 1.

Preferably, the spout 14 is of the so-called clam-shell type andcomprises two fingers or buckets 30 of channel cross section. Thebuckets taper downwardly gradually to a sharpened end and open towardeach other to form a closed receptacle when the flanges abut againsteach other as shown in Fig. 3. Near their upper ends, the buckets arewelded or otherwise secured to parallel rockshafts 31 and 32 projectingthrough and journaled in the block 22 so that the spout may be openedand closed by turning the rockshafts to swing the buckets.

In accordance with the present invention, the spout 14 is opened andclosed by an over-center device 33 which is actuated in response to theup and down motions of the spout and which operates with a snap actionas the spout approaches its upper and lower positions so that the latteris held either open or closed during movement out of and into the bag10. The over-center device is mounted on the bucket support 23 formovement up; and down with the spout and is coupled to the buckets 30 toopen and close the spout as it is moved back and forth across center. Asthe spout approaches its lower position an abutment 49 on the frame ofthe machine engages a part of the device 33 and moves across center inone direction to open the spout. Similarly, as the spout nears the upperposition, the device encounters' a second abutment 48 and is moved overcenter in the opposite direction to swing the buckets 30 together andclose the spout. 7

While the over-center action may be achieved in various ways, such asmagnetically, frictionally or by a spring, the over-center device 33 isshown in Figs. 1 through 5 as a toggle mounted on the spout support 23and coupled through the rockshafts 31 and 32 to the buckets 30 to swingthe latter apart when the toggle is flexed in one direction and togetherupon flexing of the toggle in the opposite direction. In the presentinstance, one link of the toggle 33 is formed by the inner and longerarm 34 of an elongated lever 35 lying alongside the spout support 23 andsecured near its outer end to the rockshaft 31 which forms the fulcrumof the lever.. The second link 36 of the toggle is pivotally connectedat 37 to the link 34 and its other end is pivoted at 357' to the end ofan arm 38 which is pivotally suspended from the support 23 and forms ashifting pivotal connection between the link 36 and the support. Acontractile. spring 39 acting between a pin 40 on the spout support andthe arm 38 snaps the toggle into the fully flexed position assoon as thetoggle pivot 37 is moved in one direction or the other acrossdeadcenter. In effect, therefore, the spring acts on the link 36 to urge theouter pivots 37 and 31 together and ice hold the toggle flexed with thespout either open or closed.

While only one of the buckets 30 need be swung by the toggle 33 to openthe spout 14, it is preferred to connect the rockshafts 31 and 32together to turn in opposite directions so that-both buckets swing. Tothis end, the outer short end 41 of the lever 35 is pivotally connectedat 42 to one end of a link 43 inclined upwardly and across the dividingline between the buckets 30 and pivoted at 44 to the free end of a crank45 fast on the other rockshaft 32 and of a length equal to that of thearm 41. When the lever 35 is rocked vertically through the small angle a(Fig. 4) by flexing the toggle in one direction or the other, therockshafts 31 and 32 and the buckets 30 are swung between the open andclosed positions shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The spout closing movement islimited by engagement of the bucket edges while a vertical screw 46threaded through a lug 47 on the support 23 above the toggle 33 engagesthe lever 35 and serves as a stop to determine the extent of the openingmovement.

To open and close the spout 14 in response to the up and down motions ofthe spout support 23, the abutments 43 and 49 are opposed stationarystops (Figs. 3 and mounted on the frame of the machine to engage andflex the toggle 33 in one direction or the other as the supportapproaches its upper and lower positions. In the form shown, these stopsare mounted in vertically spaced relation and on opposite sides of thetoggle on a projection 50 extending forwardly from the plate 21 and maybe screws threaded for adjustment through lugs 51 on the forward end ofthe projection.

Near the upper limit of the retracting movement of the spout 14, a partof the toggle 33, herein a pin 52 projecting laterally from the lever35, encounters the stop 48 as shown in phantom in Fig. 5 thus causingthe lever to be swung downwardly relative to the support 23 and past thedead center position in the final retracting movement of the spout. Assoon as the toggle pivot 37 crosses over center, the spring 39 tends toflex the toggle further causing the lever to swing downwardly until thebuckets come into full engagement at their adjacent edges as shown inFig. 3. In a similar way, the stop 49 blocks the movement of the pin 52as the arms 17 and 18 are swinging downwardly to lower the spout 14 intothe bag, the toggle links 34 and 36 being flexed upwardly and then movedover-center at which time the spring 39 flexes the toggle further untilthe lever 35 abuts against the stop 46. The buckets 30 thus are swungapart spreading the bag walls and opening the spout to allow the chargeof material carried thereby to fall by gravity into the bag as shown inFig. 4.

Instead of the toggle, the over-center device 33 may be of the detenttype as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this case, the inner end of the lever35 is sharpened to form two inclined cam surfaces 54 and 55, one slopingup from the point 56 and the other down, and a lateral projection 57 onthe lower end of the arm 38 is pointed at 58 and has two similarlyinclined cam surfaces 59 and 60 on opposite sides of the point. Withthis arrangement the arm 38 serves as a detent which urges the lever 35into either the upper or the lower limit position and holds the lever inthat position but which. is movable outwardly against the action of thespring 39 to permit the lever to turn from one limit position to theother. Thus, when the point 56 on the lever 35 is below the point 58 onthe projection 57, the spring 39 pulls the arm 38 to the right as viewedin Fig. 6 and the lower cam surface 60 on the projection engages theupper cam surface 54 on the lever and turns the latter counterclockwiseuntil the buckets 30 are in the closed position. Similarly, when thepoint 56 is disposed above the point 58, the upper cam surface 59 on theprojection 57 engages the lower cam surface 55 on the lever 35 as shownin Fig. 7 and, due to the swinging of the arm 38 under the action of thespring 39, the

lever is turned clockwise until it abuts against the stop 46 and thespout 14 is open.

In operation, assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 6,the supporting arm 23 is lowered to lower the spout 14 into the bag 10.As the spout nears its lower limit, the pin 52 on the lever encountersthe stop 49 which, in the final downward movement of the spout,

' swings the lever up causing the point 56 on the lever to move up overthe point 58 on the projection 57, that is,

across the center position of the over-center device 33.

During this movement of the lever, the arm 38 is swung out away from thelever against the action of the spring 39, but, as soon as the lever hascrossed the center position, the spring swings the arm back camming thelever up against the stop 46 at which time the spout is open as shown inFig. 7. Thus, as in the case of the toggle, the spout remains closed asit enters the bag and is opened as it reaches its lower limit position.

During the retracting movement of the spout 14, the buckets remain inthe open position until, near the upper limit of the spout, the pin 52engages the stop 48 which, in the final upward movement of the spout,swings the lever down across center. When the point 56 on the lever haspassed below the point 58 on the arm projection 57, the arm 38 is swungin by the spring 39 and cams the lever down until the flanges of thebuckets abut against each other and the spout is closed to receiveanother charge of material.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the dispensing device iscomparatively simple in construction since it utilizes the up and downmotions of the spout 14 to swing the buckets 30 and thus does notrequire an independent actuator. Further the spout is opened and closedby the positive over-center action of the over-center device 33. Due tothe snap action of the latter, the spout is lowered almost to its lowerlimit before being opened permitting the clam-shell buckets to belowered a substantial distance into the bag 10. Thus, the buckets, whenopened, not only discharge the material to be packaged into the bottomof the bag, but also spread the bag walls so that the bag may receivethe material. In addition, since the spout is almost fully retractedbefore being closed, a complete discharge of the material is insured.

In this way, measured quantities of material may be packaged accuratelyin the bags.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispensing device having, in combination, a support, a spoutmounted on said support and including parts relatively movable to openand close the spout, a frame, means mounting said support on said framefor movement back and forth within a predetermined range, an over-centerdevice carried by said support for bodily movement therewith and coupledto said parts to open the spout when moved across center in onedirection and close the spout when moved across center in the oppositedirection, means limiting the over-center movement of said device ineach direction, a first abutment mounted on said frame to engage a partof said device as said support approaches one end of said range and movethe device across center toward one limit position, a second abutmentmounted on said frame to engage said device as said support approachesthe other end of said range and move the device across center toward theother limit position, and yieldable means acting on said device andoperable when the device is moved across center in either direction tourge the same into the corresponding limit position.

2. The combination of, a support, a pair of fingers pivoted on saidsupport to swing toward and away from each other, a frame, meansmounting said support on said frame for movement between first andsecond positions, an over-center device carried by said support forbodily movement therewith, two spaced stops mounted on said frame anddisposed on opposite sides of said device, one engaging a part of saiddevice and moving the same across center in one direction as saidsupport approaches said first. position and the other similarly engagingand moving said device across center in the opposite direction as thesupport approaches said second position, and a connection between saiddevice and said fingers operable to swing the fingers apart When thedevice is moved in one direction and together upon movement of thedevice in the opposite direction. r

3. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe to move back and forth between a first and a second position, afilling spout carried by said support and having parts movable relativeto each other to open and closethe spout, a member connected to saidparts and movable back and forth to open and close the spout, anover-center device mounted on said support for bodily movementtherewithand operatively coupled to said member to move the same backand forth when moved across center in one direction or the other, afirst abutment mounted on said frame to engage a part of said deviceassaid support approaches said first position and movethe device acrosscenter in the direction to open the spout in the continued movement ofthe support, and a second abutment mounted on said frame to engage apart of said device as said support approaches said second position andmove the device in the opposite direcclose said spout.

4. In a dispensing device, the combination of, a support, a pair ofbuckets mounted on said support and cooperating to form a filling spout,a frame, means mounting said support on said frame for movement betweenfirst and second positions, a toggle carried by said support for bodilymovement therewith and comprising two links pivoted together, two spacedstops mounted on said frame and disposed on opposite sides of saidtoggle, one engaging a part of and flexing said toggle in one directionas said support approaches said first position and the other similarlyengaging and flexing the toggle in the opposite direction as the supportapproaches said second position, means limiting flexing of said togglein each direction, a member connected to one of said buckets and movableback and forth to move said one bucket toward and away from the otherbucket, a pivotal connection between one of said links and said member,a second pivotal connection between the other of said links and saidsupport, one of said connections being shiftable relative to saidsupport, and a spring acting on at least one of said links to urge saidconnections toward each other and flex said toggle fully when flexedinitially by either of said stops.

5. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe to move back and forth between a first and a second position, afilling spout carried by said support and including parts relativelymovable to open and close the spout, a member connected to said partsand movable back and forth to open and close the spout, a togglemechanism mounted on said support and operatively coupled to said memberto move the same back and forth when flexed in one direction or theother, a first abutmentmounted on said frame to engage a part of saidtoggle mechanism as said support approaches said first position and flexthe toggle in the continued movement of the support, a second abutmentmounted on said frame to engage a part of said toggle mechanism as saidsupport approaches said second position and flex the toggle in theopposite direction in the continued movement of the support, meanslimiting the flexing of said toggle in each direction, and yieldablemeans acting on said toggle to urge the toggle when flexed toward andhold the same in the fully flexed position with said spout either openor closed.

6. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe to move up and down between upper and lower positions, twoparallel rockshafts journaled on said support and spaced aparthorizontally, two buckets, one fast on each of said rockshafts,cooperating with each other to form a spout, an elongated lever rigid-1y connected intermediate its ends to one of said rockshafts whereby thelatter constitutes the fulcrum of the lever, mechanism connecting onearm of said lever to the other of said rockshafts to turn the rockshaftstogether but in opposite directions, a link pivotally connected at oneend to the other arm of said lever and coupled at the other end to saidsupport for turning and shifting relative to the same, said link andsaid other arm constituting a toggle, two spaced stops mounted on saidframe and disposed on opposite sides of said toggle, one engaging a partof and flexing said toggle in one direction as said support approachessaid upper position and the other similarly engaging and flexing thetoggle in the opposite direction as the support nears said lowerposition, and means'yieldably connected to said toggle and tending toflex the toggle further when the latter is engaged by said stops.

7. In a dispensing device, the combination of, a frame, a supportmounted on said frame for movement back and forth between first andsecond positions, a pair of buckets mounted on said supportandcooperating to form a filling spout, a member connected to one ofsaid buckets and movable back and forth to move said one bucket towardand away from the other bucket, an over-center toggle comprising twolinks pivoted together, one of said links being coupled to said memberand the other pivotally connected to said support, a first stopmountedon said frame to engage one of said links as said supportapproaches said first position and shift said toggle across center inone direction in the continued movement of the support thereby to movesaid member and open said spout, a second stop similarly mounted on saidframe to engage one of said links as said support approaches said secondposition and shift said toggle across center in the opposite directionthereby to close said support, and means yieldably connected to saidtoggle and operable to flex the toggle when the latter is shifted acrosscenter by said stops.

8. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe to move back and forth between a first and a second position, afilling spout carried by said support and having parts movable relativeto each other to open and close the spout, a member connected to saidparts and movable back and forth to open and close the spout, a togglemechanism mounted on said support and operatively coupled to said memberto move the same back and forth when flexed in one direction or theother, a first abutment mounted on said frame to engage a part of saidtoggle mechanism as said support approaches said first position and flexthe toggle in the continued movement of the support, and a secondabutment mounted on said frame to engage a part of said toggle mechanismas said support approaches said second position and flex the toggle inthe opposite direction in the continued movement of the support.

9. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe for movement back and forth between first and second positions, afilling spout mounted on said support and comprising parts movablerelative to each other to open and close the spout, an arm pivoted onsaid support, a member coupled to said parts and movable back and forthacross a center position with respect to said arm and between first andsecond limit positions in which said spout is open and closedrespectively, a first pair of cam surfaces on said arm and said memberrespectively and engageable when said member is on one side of saidcenter position, a second and similar pair of cam surfaces engageablewhen said member is on the other side of said center position, meansyieldably urging said arm and said member together to cause said firstsurfaces when in engagement to move the member toward said first limitposition and said second surfaces when in engagement to move the membertoward said second limit position, a first abutment on said frameengageable with said member as said support approaches said firstposition and operable to move the member across center in said onedirection, and a second abutment on said frame engageable with saidmember and operable to move the member across center in said otherdirection.

10. A dispensing device having, in combination, 7 a frame, a supportmounted on said frame to move up and down between upper and lowerpositions, two horizontal parallel rockshafts laterally spaced apart andjournaled on said support, two buckets, one fast on each of saidrockshafts, cooperating to form a spout, an elongated lever rigidlyconnected to one of said rockshafts to turn up and down about the latterbetween first and second limit positions, mechanism connecting saidlever and the other of said rockshafts to turn the rockshafts togetherbut in opposite directions, a detent engageable with said lever to holdthe same in each of said limit positions, means yieldably urging saiddetent into engagement with said lever and permitting the member to bemoved from one limit position to the other, and two spaced stops mountedon said frame above and below said lever, one stop engaging said leverand turning the same up to open said spout as said support approachessaid lower position and the other engaging and turning the lever down asthe support approaches said upper position to close the spout.

11. A dispensing device comprising a frame, a support mounted on saidframe for movement between first and second positions, a spout carriedby said support and having parts relatively movable to open and closethe spout, a member mounted on said support for bodily movementtherewith and movable back and forth relative to the support betweenfirst and second limit positions, means connecting said member and saidparts to open and close the spout as said member moves to said first andsecond limit positions respectively, a detent engageable with saidmember to hold the same in each of said limit positions, means yieldablyurging said detent into engagement with said member and permitting themember to be moved from one limit position to the other, a firstabutment on said frame engageable with said member as said supportapproaches said first position and operable to move the member to saidfirst limit position, and a second abutment on said frame engageablewith said member as said support approaches said second position andoperable to move the member to said second limit position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS574,137 Cummings Dec. 29, 1896 896,952 Sturgeon et al Aug. 25, 1908997,145 Lines July 4, 19ll 2,051,483 Jones Aug. 18, 1936 2,307,990Briggs Jan. 12, 1943

